Tree Downed

One of the big old Maples fell over. The cause was the extremely water saturated soil along with a wind storm. Lots of work to remove the stump.

Ceiling Fan

Here is the new ceiling fan installed. A much sleeker and more modern fan.

Boss, Boss...the plane, the plane!

Texture done!

Here is a close-up of the California knock down texture. Everyone asks what it is and it is very hard to explain. It is a very flat texture unlike the old popcorn stipple (maybe only 3/16" thick).

Ceiling work to begin!

All walls masked and covered with plastic in preparation for ceiling texture.

Levelled Concrete

Concrete has been levelled. There was about a 3/4" drop at the far end tapering back to 1/4" at the close end.

After about 2 hours of mixing, pouring, levelling and smoothig concrete; Echo had to apply her stamp of approval to my work. Conveniently right after I cleaned all of tools!

Water Finally Draining Away

Lake Echo!

The culvert finally thawed and is draining Lake Echo.

More colour!

All walls are now painted. Ceiling next and then flooring.

Walls get some colour and buying the flooring.

Here is some colour on the walls. Today's project was to paint two coats of the lighter coloured paint on the walls. Tomorrow is the second colour. Also today we picked up some levelling cement to level the floor and the laminate flooring. The picture below is a sample of our flooring called Saskatchewan Oak.

Primer!

Primer went on today! Finally a different look to the room. These are the before and after pictures. Two coats of primer/sealer sure made the drywall repairs disappear.

I hate drywall dust!

What more can I say. I hate sanding drywall mud. It is a terrible job! This was last weekends project. Two days of sanding resulted in being ready for paint!

The Great Ice Sheet

The great ice sheet has collapsed. The culvert finally opened and started draining the water from our land. The colder temperatures after the first initial meltdown froze the lake of water with about 6 inches of ice. The water drained from underneath and collapsed the other day.

Spring? What Spring!

Spring? What Spring! Sure looks like the 5th day of Spring to me!

Flood Watch 2009!

Here is a series of panoramic photos of our back 7 acres. The water is estimated at about a foot deep. The water is about 6 inches away from cresting over the road.

Pretzels?

Pretzels? We watched 'Good Eats' on the Food Network on Saturday and he made Pretzels. They looked so good that we had to make and eat them for dinner!

Reno Update

Here is an update. The room is making some progress. The second coat of drywall mud has been applied to all walls. Only the ceiling remains. After that the ceiling will be ready for texturing. The walls need to be sanded and maybe a few touch ups. Hopefully soon the paint will follow and then finally the flooring.

Time Saving Invention

Here is the start of my time saving invention. Well it is not really my invention but I am building it for a lot less money than I could buy one for. This is the hitch and frame portion of a cultivator for the garden tractor. I borrowed a welder and made this up last weekend. There is more to build but the rest of it just bolts together. This will allow us to drive down the rows of plants and cultivate the weeds out of the vegatable garden.

Here is the commercially made unit.

Echo - Pulling Harness & Dino Bone

Echo trying out her new pulling harness and tire. This will give her a bit more exercise while going for a walk.

Echo's her Christmas present (The Dino Bone). She has feverishly attacked it on several occasions but its lasting a bit longer than a rawhide bone.

Year End Projects

A few last projects of the year. The first was to start the next batch of red wine brewing and the second was to install my flue gas temperature gauge in the wood stove. The ideal operating temperatures are 400-900 degrees F. This keeps the smoke down to a minimum and the maximum heat output.

Slate Moving

The slate is now in the house! Being smart pays off. Instead of lifting and carrying the heavy slate up the stairs into the house I decided to back my truck up to the stairs in the garage so that the tailgate was level with the landing. A quick shuffle and the slate is in the front entry awaiting for the billiard room renovation to be completed.

Pool Table Relocation

The pool table is going to be relocated to our house. Here are some shots of it all dismantled and wrapped up for transport. The slate, that is the table's playing surface, is 3 individual pieces of 1 inch thick Italian slate. Each piece was 150 pounds and was very heavy for Steve and I to carry up and out of the basement and into my truck. Now...who wants to come visit to unload it???

Santa Dogs

Echo

Mika

Play Pals